Gardening gifts for the holidays

As much as I’d love to play Santa to everyone who reads this column, that’s just not practical. But what I can do is put together a list of some of the gardening tools and related items that I think you or the gardeners on your own gift-list might enjoy. Here are my picks.

Gardening Basics

Gloves: I don’t think that a gardener can have too many gloves, so they’ll always be on my list. Search the internet and you’ll find plenty to choose from. There are summer-weight gloves, coldweather gloves, gloves for pruning roses. For a stocking stuffer, try “mud gloves.” With their nitrilecoated fingers, these inexpensive gloves are super lightweight and flexible; easy to tuck into a stocking or even hang on the tree.

Trugs: Lightweight, waterproof, and durable, the trug is a gardening workhorse. Available in a rainbow of colors, they’re also great to use inside the house and fun to give as a gift. You can also turn a trug into a gift basket, filling it with other gardening items. (gardners.com)

Coil Hose: I haven’t tried one of these yet, but I’ve gotten tired of lugging heavy hoses around the yard and garden and trying to keep them from kinking. These also come in fun colors. This is going on my wish list! (amazon.com/ gardeners.com)

Arboretum/Garden Membership

When I first signed up for membership at Longwood Gardens about twenty years ago, it seemed like an extravagance. I wondered if I would really visit frequently enough to make my membership pay. It turns out that I do. Being a member of a public garden or arboretum means that you can visit any time. And you will, because you can! Some garden memberships include guest passes. But possibly the best thing I’ve found through being a Longwood Gardens member is that I feel connected to my community, my

PHOTO BY PAMELA BAXTER Cover of “Windowsill Art” by Nancy Ross Hugo.